This invention relates to a paint spray booth and method of painting an article therein and more particularly to such a booth which shall be adapted for painting vehicles, such as automobiles, therein.
As is well known in the art to which my invention relates difficulties have been encountered in painting articles, such as automobiles, due to the fact that the air flow through the booth has been in a generally horizontal direction toward the article being painted whereby there is a turbulent flow of air over the floor of the spray booth which entrains dust particles and the like picked up from the floor of the booth. This is a big problem encountered with a conventional booth having horizontal flow of air due to the fact that the vehicle tires deposit dirt on the floor of the booth and heretofore it has not been possible to prevent the exhaust fan from drawing some of the dirt from the floor and depositing it onto the freshly painted surface.
Another problem encountered in conventional spray booths has been the lack of protection to the painter. Although the paint operator usually wears a protective mask when applying paint, the operator is still exposed to a considerable amount of paint laden air in conventional paint booths.
The patents to Dock et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,168,029, Wilhelmsson et al 3,168,030, Krontz et al 3,170,384 and Roberts 3,807,291 show conventional type spray booths wherein the air is removed through the floor of the booth beneath the article being painted. Also, the McCue U.S. Pat. No. 2,445,074 discloses a conventional spray booth wherein air passes through filters located in the doors of the booth.